Megadeals Make a Comeback to Power $660 Billion M&A Revival

  • Dealmakers see recovery after two years of falling values
  • Banks still cutting jobs, bonuses as effects of rebound lag
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A rush of megadeals is powering a rebound in mergers and acquisitions, bringing some much-needed relief for investment bankers after two years of subdued activity.

Global deal values are up about 21% year-on-year to more than $660 billion as the first quarter draws to its close, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s thanks in large part to transactions like credit-card issuer Capital One Financial Corp.’s proposed $35 billion takeover of rival Discover Financial Services and chip designer Synopsys Inc.’s agreement to buy software developer of Ansys Inc. for an almost identical sum.